Chief Financial Officer Set to Become Intel's Next Chairman.

Intel Corp.'s The board of directors elected chief administrative officer Andy Bryant as vice chairman of the board, a new position, in preparation for him to be elected Intel’s next chairman in May of 2012. He will serve alongside the current chairman, Jane Shaw, until she retires next May. The appointments of both Ms. Shaw and Mr. Bryant indicate that Intel now prefers executives rather than tech visionaries on the post.

Mr. Bryant, the former longstanding CFO of the company and now chief administrative officer (CAO), is the second Intel officer to serve on the current board, in addition to Paul Otellini, president and chief executive officer. When Mr. Bryant becomes executive chairman, the board will concurrently re-establish the position of lead director to be held by an independent, non-employee director.

“The board welcomes the addition of Andy Bryant to its ranks and looks forward to his service as the next chairman. His deep knowledge of Intel and his unmatched wisdom will serve the company well," said Ms. Shaw, non-executive chairman.

Previously the board of directors appointed former chief executive officers, or even the company's co-founders on the chairman role. In effect, those people were technology visionaries with deep knowledge of Intel's products, roadmaps and market trends. By contrast, Mr. Bryant brings a wealth of experience at Intel that includes 13 years of service as CFO, and more recently, as the senior executive responsible for the technology and manufacturing group, IT, human resources and finance.

“I am excited about this new position for Andy and look forward to continuing to work closely with him as he assumes his new responsibilities,” said Paul Otellini, chief executive officer of Intel.